Well, it looks like next week's break for Autumnwatch will be just a one off, and the Monday night quiz hour will be back to normal on Halloween. As for last night, Only Connect saw the first play-off for the second half of the draw. Playing were the Maltsters, Dan Jones, Raymond Baggaley and captain Pete Mitchell, who were beaten by the Policy Wonks in their first match, and the Oscar Men, who just lost out to our friends the Part Time Poets in their's.
Round 1. The Maltsters went first, and began the match with Water: 'Hetty (wand docking)' in pink writing, then 'James (8l drum capacity)' in yellow, then 'Charles (two floor nozzles)' in blue; they offered 'Thomas the Tank Engine characters', which wasn't correct. The Men saw 'Henry (two-speed performance and 10m cable)' in red, but were none the wiser. Victoria didn't seem impressed they didn't know this: they are brands of Henry hoover! (To be fair, I didn't get it for sure until the final clue) The Men made Eye of Horus their first choice: 'Evolution: Selenium sulphide' was the first clue, and Mr Slowey instantly identified them as films and things that aliens in them. Excellent shout for FIVE points! The Maltsters chose Two Reeds next, and got the music set: we heard Pink Floyd's 'The Great Gig in the Sky', then REM's 'The Great Beyond', then 'The Great Pretender'; they had it at this point for two points. The Men chose Twisted Flax next: 'Mother-in-law', then 'Court-martial', then 'Lord-Lieutenant'; this was enough for them to see that they are phrases where the plurals aren't at the end, eg 'Mothers-in-Law', and collected two points. The Maltsters chose Horned Viper next: 'Suits in bridge', then 'US professional baseball leagues', then 'Musical keys', and finally 'Ursa constellations'. That last clue gave it to them: they all have 'major' and 'minor' variants. Left with Lion, the Men got the picture set, and saw Jet from Gladiators, then a map with the Gulf region highlighted, then some mathematical equation, and finally a shell. They offered 'petrol station companies', which was correct for a point. (The third clue represented 'total') At the end of the first round, the Men led 8-3.
Round 2, What Comes Fourth? The Maltsters kicked off the round with Lion: 'N12', then 'E3', and then 'S6'. They didn't get it, their opponents did: it's points on a compass combined with a clock face, so 'W9' would be fourth. For their own question, the Men chose Horned Viper: 'Big Matthew', then 'Captain Mark Phillips', and then 'Saving Mr Luke Banks'; they saw it to be Tom Hanks films with the names of the evangelists added, and offered 'Saving John Private Ryan', which was accepted for two points. The Maltsters chose Two Reeds next: 'Cyber', then 'NY', and then 'Miami'. They didn't quite get in, and their opponents got close but no cigar: they are the titles of the CSI series going backwards, so 'Crime Scene Investigation' would complete. The Men chose Water next: 'Albino', then 'Karol'; they saw it to be the original names of popes, then, after accidentally buzzing, offered 'Miguel' as the current pope's former name. Not right. Their opponents saw 'Joseph', and then offered 'Alfonso', which caused much hilarity! 'Jorge' is the right answer. For their final choice, the Maltsters chose Eye of Horus, and got the picture set: we saw the barrel of a gun with an arrow pointing at one of the chambers, then Patrick McGoohan in costume for the Prisoner; they offered an 8-ball, theorising that the arrowed chamber was the fifth chamber and McGoohan played Number 6. Clever, but not right. Their opponents saw a goblet for the third clue, and saw it to be the first words after the 'the' in the Harry Potter series, so something representing 'order' would be fourth. Left with Twisted Flax for their own final question, the Men saw 'Richard I > John', then 'Charles II > James II'; they saw it to be monarchs who were succeeded by their brothers, and offered 'Edward VIII > George VI' for three points. At the end of a rather one-sided second round, the Men led 15-3.
On to the Walls. The Men went first this time, and chose the Lion wall. They quickly had their first set isolated: 'Kitty', 'Jumbo', 'Nag' and 'Pooch' are nicknames for animals. After studying the remaining clues for a bit, they had a second group sorted: 'Black', 'Shot', 'Luck' and 'Plant' can all follow 'Pot'. They looked over the final clues, and soon had the final groups resolved: 'Carpenter', 'Hill', 'Rider' and 'Bough' are sports broadcasters, which they knew, while 'Carpet', 'Roast', 'Trash' and 'Slate' are synonyms for each other, which they didn't. So, one mistake, so seven points.
The Maltsters thus could claw some lost ground back if they could sweep up on the Water wall. They spotted a link of 3D shapes quickly, and eventually isolated 'Cone', 'Prism', 'Spheroid' and 'Tetrahedron'. They spotted another link, and eventually had a second set sorted: 'Carriage release', 'Cylinder', 'Drive roller' and 'Golf ball' are parts of a typewriter. They soon had the remaining sets all worked out: 'Rabbit', 'Chicken', 'Poltroon' and 'Wuss' are words for a scared person, while 'Key', 'Bolo', 'Suffolk' and 'Rum' can all precede 'Punch'. A full ten there, which meant they now trailed 22-13 going into the final round.
So, the Maltsters would have to run Missing Vowels to stand any chance of catching up. ''Beard of the year' winners' was split 2-each. 'Dante's circles of hell combined', such as 'GLUTTONY AND LUST', went to the Maltsters 4-(-1). 'Types of shark' went to the Maltsters 1-0, with just two clues coming, and that was time. The Men won 23-20.
Another good match with some good quizzing from both sides. Unlucky Maltsters, but a very good recovery considering where they were at half time, so thanks very much indeed for playing. Well done Oscar Men though, and very best of luck in the second round.
No show next week of course, but we will hopefully resume with the Genealogists vs the Wrestlers on Halloween.
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